Myanmar's sanctions lift tied to rights progress

BANGKOK: Calls are growing for an end to Western sanctions against Myanmar, but experts say a shift in policy is unlikely without progress on human rights and the support of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi's release in November following Myanmar's first election in 20 years has reignited debate over the effectiveness of the punitive measures, enforced by the United States and the European Union in response to human rights abuse claims in Myanmar. "There's a lot of internal debate going on among policymakers and a previously established and longstanding consensus is increasingly seeming brittle," a Bangkok-based Western diplomat said. Critics of the policy say sanctions, which have largely kept Western companies out of a resource-rich corner of Asia, are hindering development in what is one of the world's poorest nations. But the regime must still provide "somethin...